Career Center
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Alternative Ways to Gain Experience

Believe it or not, internships aren't the only answer.

In a job market that feels inundated with candidates, you may feel completely overwhelmed trying to find ways to stand out among your competitors. This can be especially true if you’re starting out in your career and are trying to find ways to add experiences to your resume.

It feels like an endless cycle. You need experiences...to add experiences to your resume...but without experiences...it’s difficult to get experiences in the first place. Internship opportunities fill up quickly within a seemingly narrow window of time.

In other words, how in the world do you get the visibility you need to land that first internship?

Here’s the truth: pursuing and securing an internship can feel like chasing a purple unicorn.

But here’s a secret: there are actually other ways to acquire career-related experience.

Here are a few to help you get started:

  • Course Projects – Students are often surprised to find that their course projects count as experience, but they most certainly do! By listing out the class and details of what you did to complete an assignment, as well as the impact of your work, this demonstrates a level of knowledge and expertise that could be considered just as valuable as an internship experience.
  • On-Campus Employment – If you find yourself on campus often, getting a job with a campus department could be a viable option. You get bonus points if it’s relevant to your major or career of interest. For more information on how to snag an on-campus position, check out our post here.
  • Volunteer – Helping out a local non-profit, community organization, or student organization is another great way to gain experience. You could even tie the work to something related to your major, for example, running social media if you're a Media & Communication Studies major. For even more tips, check out our post here.
  • Professional Associations – By connecting with professionals in your industry of interest through professional associations, you’ll not only build your network but also open yourself up to potential opportunities through their organizations or even the association itself. This option does require networking, which can be a source of anxiety for students, but it helps exercise that muscle that will absolutely be needed for the actual job market.
  • Micro-internships – Micro-internships are a final great option if you’re still searching for semester-long work and need more experience. Go to parkerdewey.com to find available projects. You can also look into theforage.com to gain experience through their job simulations. 

Want to know more ways you can stand out as a leading candidate outside of internships? Join us for a Keys to Success workshop on Monday, October 7 at 12 PM at The Commons 331 to learn how.